Rating: 
Summary: An inspiring message for us all
Review: I have just finished this amazing book! M. J Wheatley explores some very alien and difficult concepts about the nature of the universe with amazing clarity and perception.The world of new science has opened up to me, I have dipped into and reeled in chaos theory, quantam physics, fields, space and atoms. I have been helped to understand how this new knowledge can help me become a new kind of leader in a chaotic world. If you have been wondering why your management techniques don't work in an ever changing environment and you have instinctively felt a clanging with the environment you work in, then pick up this book and read! The ideas in this book will reassure you that anything is possible.
Rating: 
Summary: Self-Renewing Systems
Review: I just re-read Leadership and the New Science, and am just as inspired by it as when it was first published. Wheatley describes the new science as new glasses to notice the way things have been working all along - that we live in a participatory universe. This universe is a living model for the key questions we ask ourselves about effective organization: How do we get people to work well together? How do we honor and benefit from diversity? How do we get teams working together quickly and efficiently? How do we resolve conflicts? If we understand that natural systems are self-renewing because they are kept in balance by the capacity for self-reference, we can answer the questions we've asked: We need an "unerring recognition of the intent of the system, a deep relationship between individual activity and the whole." When we step back from the problem we gain enough perspective so that a shape emerges - patterns and themes rather than isolated causes. Thus the leader's task is (a) to communicate a guiding vision of purpose and direction, strong values and organizational beliefs; (b) keep them ever-present and clear; and (c) allow individuals their random, sometimes chaotic-looking meanderings. If the "shape" of the system is clear, if every employee holds the company's vision and purpose, the organization will be self-renewing -- everyone will find their way toward that vision and purpose.
Rating:
Summary: Conceptually stimulating
Review: I read Margaret Wheatley's book while in the process of developing an internal WebShop on Taming Organizational Chaos. It was truly a stimulating experience that she hits the concepts dead on and articulates a powerful message that can change thinking. I hope she goes on to provide additional details about how to do or how others may have implemented some of these concepts.
Rating:
Summary: New Direction in Leading Organizations
Review: I was a bit skeptical about the book after the first chapter. However, after opening my mind to what the author had to say, I realized that she had some good points, which are applicable to everyday organizations and leadership. The book could have been kept to under 100 pages without all the extra examples. Then again, I see how many examples can engage someone, especially if he is not familar with organizations. Nevertheless, if she would have stuck to her point that our current paradigm in understanding organizations is from the seventeenth century and illusionary that would have sufficed. The book does not offer any concrete examples for working with systems instead of parts, which is the main point the author drives home. The author does offer a theoretical framework. The framework is a lot better because it is meant to apply to many situations. This book is worth reading if one is familiar with old models of organizations and leadership. Otherwise, reading it will be too abstract and meaningless.
Rating:
Summary: New Direction in Leading Organizations
Review: In this book, the author describes current theories in science and applies them to human organizational management. She develops a number of concepts that I think are applicable to organizational management, such as flexibility, greater communication within an organization, the importance of information, and valuing the intelligence of individual workers. However, the reasons for applying these principles developed from science to organizations are not well established in this book, in my opinion. The applications may be valid, but a strong case for them is not made here. For example, one claim made to justify one conclusion is that "organizations are open systems and are responsive to the same self-organizing dynamics as all other life." (p. 97). This is a bold claim, to link life sciences to management, that is not well substantiated in the book. The author seems to revel in the ancient (and ongoing) philosophical tension between the parts and the whole, calling us to look at the whole of a system, though rejecting objective reality (an ultimate whole), and with a bit of Gnostic thinking as well: "Matter doesn't matter" (p. 153), Also, this is not an informative work, rather its intention appears to be persuasive. The author does reference many works in the scientific literature, but it is not intended to be a review or strict proof (I hope) of her position. Some aspects of science that seem to me to contradict some of her conclusions are not discussed, such as the order imposed top-down in the theory of relativity (according to my limited understanding of it), and the fact that some changes must be wholly destructive and cannot have positive effects (e.g., certain genetic mutations). Again, some good points are made, but their basis is not well established here. As an industrial engineer, I do not think we should throw away all the current practices, and hopefully that attitude is not simply self-serving. I cannot recommend this particular book, but hope there is a more substantial treatment of these concepts elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting conclusions, lack of good argument
Review: In this book, the author describes current theories in science and applies them to human organizational management. She develops a number of concepts that I think are applicable to organizational management, such as flexibility, greater communication within an organization, the importance of information, and valuing the intelligence of individual workers. However, the reasons for applying these principles developed from science to organizations are not well established in this book, in my opinion. The applications may be valid, but a strong case for them is not made here. For example, one claim made to justify one conclusion is that "organizations are open systems and are responsive to the same self-organizing dynamics as all other life." (p. 97). This is a bold claim, to link life sciences to management, that is not well substantiated in the book. The author seems to revel in the ancient (and ongoing) philosophical tension between the parts and the whole, calling us to look at the whole of a system, though rejecting objective reality (an ultimate whole), and with a bit of Gnostic thinking as well: "Matter doesn't matter" (p. 153), Also, this is not an informative work, rather its intention appears to be persuasive. The author does reference many works in the scientific literature, but it is not intended to be a review or strict proof (I hope) of her position. Some aspects of science that seem to me to contradict some of her conclusions are not discussed, such as the order imposed top-down in the theory of relativity (according to my limited understanding of it), and the fact that some changes must be wholly destructive and cannot have positive effects (e.g., certain genetic mutations). Again, some good points are made, but their basis is not well established here. As an industrial engineer, I do not think we should throw away all the current practices, and hopefully that attitude is not simply self-serving. I cannot recommend this particular book, but hope there is a more substantial treatment of these concepts elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Shocking and motivating
Review: In this brilliant book, Margaret J. Weathley brings parallels between the theory of leadership and the quantum physics. Being an organizational consultant, not the physical by herself, she
encourages "to stop seeking after the universe of the seventeenth century and begin to explore what has become known to us during the twentieth century". She exposes the bright conclusions from her experience of working as a consultant, and these conclusions are confirmed by quantum physics as well: - The things we fear most in organizations - disruptions, confusion, chaos - need not be interpreted as signs that we are about to be destroyed. Instead, these conditions are necessary to awaken creativity. - What is critical is the relationship created between two or more elements. Systems influence individuals, and individuals call form systems. - There is no objective reality; the environment we experience does not exist "out there". It is co-created through our acts of observation, what we choose to notice and worry about. - Acting should precede planning. - Instead of the ability to analyze and predict, we need to know how to stay acutely aware of what's happening now, and we need to be better, faster learners from what just happened. - We need fewer descriptions of tasks and instead learn how to facilitate process. - Power becomes a problem, not a capacity. People use their creativity to work against these leaders, or in spite of them; they refuse to contribute positively to the organization. - Those who have used music metaphors to describe working together, especially jazz metaphors, are sensing to the nature of this quantum world. This world demands that we be present together, and be willing to improvise. - If a manager is told that a new trainee is particularly gifted, that manager will see genius emerging from the trainee's mouth even in obscure statements. But if the manager is told that his or her new hire is a bit slow on the uptake, the manager will interpret a brilliant idea as a sure sign of sloppy thinking of obfuscation. - In quantum world, what you see is what you get. - Every time we go to measure something, we interfere. - A place where the act of looking for certain information evokes the information we went looking for - and simultaneously eliminates our opportunity to observe other information. - Every observation is preceded by a choice about what to observer. - We all construct the world though lenses of our own making and use these to filter and select. - It simply doesn't work to ask people to sign on when they haven't been involved in the planning process. - Roles mean nothing without understanding the network of relationships and the resources that are required to support the work of that person. In this relational world, it is foolish to think we can define any person solely in terms of isolated tasks and accountabilities. - What is distinguishable and important, he says, are the kinds of connections. - Our old views constrain us. They deprive us from engaging fully with this universe of potentials. Based on the parallels above mentioned, Margaret J. Weathley brings lot of compelling ideas about the leadership and organizational management. This book isn't a collection of dos and don'ts, but invigorates deep creative thinking.
Rating:
Summary: A Spiritual Gift That will Awe and Excite You!
Review: Margaret Wheatley has indeed revised and updated her orignal book. This edition offers more clarity to the "new science" and in some ways is an autobiography of her growth and connectedness to the positve "energy" that guides and informs our ever expanding creation. Her new chapter, "Change, the Capacity of Life," is exciting to read for the clarity and universal spirituality emanating from her observations. If you have read her original "Leadership and the New Science," and "A Simpler Way," you will marvel at how this new chapter and her updating of others unifies "The New Science" and adds depth and wisdom to her life's work. I work in a Jesuit high school and part of my job is to connect my community to the new world that is building all around us. This book is a gift to organizations worldwide and will help those who lead their organizations, no matter the size, to do so from a "personal centeredness" of trust and integrity. Her insights offer hope as we struggle with the great issues of our time.
Rating:
Summary: A Spiritual Gift That will Awe and Excite You!
Review: Margaret Wheatley has indeed revised and updated her orignal book. This edition offers more clarity to the "new science" and in some ways is an autobiography of her growth and connectedness to the positve "energy" that guides and informs our ever expanding creation. Her new chapter, "Change, the Capacity of Life," is exciting to read for the clarity and universal spirituality emanating from her observations. If you have read her original "Leadership and the New Science," and "A Simpler Way," you will marvel at how this new chapter and her updating of others unifies "The New Science" and adds depth and wisdom to her life's work. I work in a Jesuit high school and part of my job is to connect my community to the new world that is building all around us. This book is a gift to organizations worldwide and will help those who lead their organizations, no matter the size, to do so from a "personal centeredness" of trust and integrity. Her insights offer hope as we struggle with the great issues of our time.
Rating:
Summary: I have been enlightened
Review: Margaret Wheatley opens up a whole new world of thought in her book Leadership and the New Science. She brings about a revolutionary way of thinking about organizations by relating scientific discoveries to organizational behavior. She abandons 17th centrury Newtonian mindsets to embrace a more holistic and organic view of the world. This book can help give you the tools to successfully navigate the rough waters of rapid change in organizations; you find yourself welcoming change rather than fearing it. A must read for anyone that aspires to succeed and values personal growth.
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